An increasing number of small businesses are embracing Social Media but most of them are doing it wrong.

In a recent survey conducted by Simply Measured, it was found that more than 60% of small businesses didn’t get or wasn’t able to measure the ROI of Social Media marketing campaign.

Most small businesses get too obsessed with the vanity metrics like number of fans or followers, likes, and shares.

These are all important but not the be all and end all of social media marketing. Plus, getting a like from potential customer is better than getting 10 from people who are never going to buy from you.

Majority of small business organizations fail to capitalize on social media because they don’t realize the real purpose.

Following are some of the most common reasons that lead to small businesses’ failure in making the most of social media.

Lack of Clear Direction

Just posting random stuff on your social media accounts is not going to cut it.

If you don’t have a clear plan or direction, you are just adding into the clutter that will be ignored by your target audience.

Make sure you have clearly set your goals and objectives. Social Media marketing doesn’t mean posting everything and anything that is related to your business. You need to know what you’re trying to achieve from Social Media and post accordingly.

Here’s a screenshot from a car buying and selling portal’s page.

The page shares all sorts of stories and images about cars. The engagement rate is not bad, but the site doesn’t have a single buying or selling ad as yet.

If your social media page is sending no visitor, leads, or business your way, it’s time to revise and modify your strategy.

Failure To Integrate Social Media Into Marketing Plan

Most small businesses are slow to adapt to the changing trends, which is understandable since they don’t have the time and resources to keep up with the happenings.

Social Media is not new by any means but its role has changed quite significantly.

Many businesses think of Social Media as a luxury and not a necessity. They keep focusing on just one channel like SEO or PPC and fail to realize that it’s all interconnected.

Search engines might not look at the number of likes or fans you have, but Social Media CAN play a role in Search Engine Optimization. You can promote your content, build relations with other bloggers and influencers, and result in more exposure and backlinks.

Just keep the relevance in mind and keep a close eye on your analytics to see which type of content produced the best results.

Inconsistent Social Media Strategy

The consistency is of utmost importance.

Small businesses need to plan their social media calendar in advance. Don’t make it a day-to-day affair or you will keep having off days.

Make sure that you have a clear content strategy in place. Post everything from interesting articles or stories to polls and quizzes, and images to videos. Create events or offers.

Create a balance between posting interesting stuff that targets engagement and promotional stuff that targets leads or conversions.

They think of it as One-Way Communication

You are not there to speak and leave. You are there to listen and talk.

Social media is a place to engage and converse with your target audience. It’s made primarily for consumers, not for businesses. Therefore, small businesses need to take social media as a way to communicate as well as listen to their customers. There are numerous tools that allow you to monitor and track what your target customers are talking about.

You need to create content that is helpful to your target customers.

Don’t talk about product features. If your product or service solves a problem, then focus on the problem and how your product can help.

Zero Budget Allocation

As a small business, you don’t need to hire dedicated social media marketing team. However, you must invest some of your marketing budget on the right tools and content creation.

Social Media tools can help you save a lot of time and make all the difference when it comes to finding, tracking, and engaging your target audience.

Facebook offers advertising options that local businesses can use to target people in a specific town or city. You can also use paid tweets to promote a discount or special offer.

No A/B Testing

A / B testing is important for all facets of online marketing. Don’t rely on just one platform, medium, strategy, or type of content and think that it’s the best you can do.

Always keep on experimenting with your content or strategy by making small changes and conducting A/B tests.

Only then you will be able to improve your social media marketing and guarantee return on your investment.

Not having the Patience

Most small businesses don’t have the patience and persistence to continue with a strategy that doesn’t produce immediate results.

Social Media takes time but it’s a very important part of your marketing strategy.

Most consumers will look at your social media profiles before getting in touch. Instead of getting dishearten and abandoning your Facebook or Twitter profile, it’s important to continue with your marketing efforts.